Canton Fair - a symbol of China's opening-up

2014-March-19       Source: Newsgd.com

 

In the spring of 1957, the Chinese Government inaugurated an export commodity fair in Guangzhou, the port which formed the starting point for the Marine Silk Road and possesses a millennium long tradition of trade by sea. Premier Zhou Enlai decided its name as "Canton Fair " for short.

With a history of over fifty years the Canton Fair (Chinese Import and Export Commodity Fair Guangzhou) is a channel for external exchanges, providing a valuable bridge between China and the world. It is China’s largest, oldest and hishest-level trade fair, boasting the most comprehensive variety of exhibits, the largest attendance, and the most lucrative business turnover. Preserving its traditions, the Fair is a comprehensive and multi-functional event of international importance. It is known as the most vital trade fair in China.

The inaugural Canton Fair covered 18,000 square meters with 1223 purchasers from 19 countries and regions. The value of their trade totaled $17.54 million. The fair was nourished by three historic opportunities— namely, the founding of the New China in 1949, the reform and opening-up since 1978, and China’s admission into the WTO. Canton Fair has thus mushroomed into being the biggest trade fair in the world, with an exhibition space covering 1.13 million square meters. Each fair handles $35 billion worth of trade value and attracts more than 200,000 purchasers from 212 countries and regions.

Showcasing “Made-in-China” Products

The trade volume of the two fairs each year was equivalent to one quarter of the total export volume of the whole country. As a result, the fair has become renowned as a barometer and a weathervane for China’s foreign trade.

The fair is also renowned as a business incubator for the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which have an eye to the international market. Tens of thousands of SMEs won their first trade windfall through the fair, making good-quality Chinese products known to the world.

Starting with the 101st Canton Fair in 2002, the event has staged an import exhibition zone so as to strike a balance between imports and exports. To date, the total exhibition space has reached 20,000 square meters, attracting more than 500 foreign companies from over 40 countries and regions, where they can seek potential business opportunities within the huge Chinese market.

For over half a century, the mission of the fair has transcended from “breaking the blockade, accumulating more foreign exchanges to a big platform for Sino-foreign economic and trade communications during the age of economic globalization. Canton Fair has become the perfect manifestation of the splendid business culture of Guangdong Province in the new century.

The Ascent to Becoming a First-Class Exhibition

There are now fifty exhibition pavilions in the fair, and the products are divided into fifteen categories. It is a highly inclusive and professional zone with unique Chinese characteristics. It shows off the vibrancy of “made-in-China” products and attracts purchasers from all over the world.

The Canton Fair has a database of 910,000 purchasers, cooperating with 81 overseas industrial and business associations, and bringing thousands businesses of together.

After four revamps and expansions, the floor space of the exhibition center has reached 1.1 million square meters, equivalent to the world-class exhibition centers in Hannover and Frankfurt, in Germany, and Milan in Italy. The 1.13 million square meter exhibition space at each Canton Fair is thus the biggest in the world.

Each dollar transacted in the fair could yield $13.6 of GDP for the local economy, a figure far exceeding the dividends brought by the other well-known international exhibitions.

Canton Fair Belongs to Guangdong and the World

At the opening ceremony of the 100th Canton Fair in 2006, Wen Jiabao declared that the event was “a window for China’s opening-up efforts, an epitome of China’s opening-up efforts, and a symbol of China’s opening-up endeavor”. The Chinese Premier’s words are the most authentic and succinct description of the historic status and contribution of the Fair in the past 50 years.

The choice, half a century ago, to select Guangzhou as the host city of the China import and export trade fair was no mere coincidence, as the port had been the starting point for the Marine Silk Road. Its long history, advantageous geographic location, and rich local culture have conspired to make the city an ideal place for making new trading partners. The fair has successfully accomplished its historic missions to assist foreign trade, and to express and consolidate the new image of China. It has also served as the touchstone for China’s reform and opening-up policy. The fair is a cultural trademark for Guangdong as well as a signboard for the nation as a whole.

 The Five Homes of the Canton Fair

 1. China-Soviet Union Friendship Building - the location of the first Canton Fair.

In 1957, the first Canton Fair, was held in China-Soviet Union Friendship Building. This is now sequenced as No.5 exhibition hall for trading machinery. At that time the entire exhibition hall covered only a floor space of 18,000 sqm whereas the Canton Fair rented 14,000 sqm.

 2 . Qiaoguanglu Exhibition Hall - as named by Chen Yi　

The third Canton Fair, held in the spring of 1958, was moved to the China Export Goods Exhibition Hall, located in Qiaoguanglu No. 2.

Chen Yi, the then vice premier of the State Council, inscribed the name of the hall. The third, fourth and fifth Canton Fairs were held here.

3. Qiyilu Exhibition Hall - a gift made to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

The 6th Canton Fair was moved to the Qiyilu Exhibition Hall, located in 1#, Qiyilu in Haizhu Square, Guangzhou City. The next few Canton Fairs were staged here until the 34th event.

4．Liuhualu Exhibition Hall— reputed to be one of Guangzhou’s eight most beautiful new landscapes.

At the beginning of April 1974, the Liuhualu Exhibition Hall was put into use. It was the biggest single civil architecture project in Guangdong Province of that time.

In 1985 , Liuhualu Exhibition Hall was chosen as one of the eight most beautiful new scenic spots in Guangzhou City.

5.Pazhou Exhibition Hall - a new home for Canton Fair

The 104th Canton Fair, was staged in the Pazhou Exhibition Hall in the autumn of 2008. The A, B, and C zones of the building were all utilized.

The scale of the Pazhou Exhibition Hall exceeds that of the Hannover Exhibition Center in Germany, making it the largest exhibition center in the world.